UK, Germany to Make 2016 Year of the Mobile - Others Remain Unconvinced

This year will see mobile purchases accounting for as much as a third of online sales in Germany and the UK, yet marketers in other European territories should be wary of the impact in their own markets.

Discount hub RetailMeNot’s latest online spending forecast tips Britain to drive mobile buying forward in 2016, leading smartphone and tablet purchases to account for 35.6% of all online buys in the UK; up from 28.6% last year and above the EU average of 25%.

Germany is following closely behind on a proportion of 34% (up from 27.7% last year) but despite all the murmurs of Europe becoming a hotbed for mobile commerce, some markets are dragging.

A glance at RetailMeNot’s online spending league shows nations like Poland (17.2%) and Italy (15.6%) failing to warm to purchasing via mobile as PC buying remains the preferred option.

A table for mobile spending per customer sees many of the trailblazers in the other graph performing well. However, marketers may be wise to take heed of activity in markets like France - where the proportion of mobile buys is around the European average (23.6% versus an average of 25%) yet spending per head is far above rates across the continent.

Such findings only serve to exemplify the points made about customer lifetime value, and a need among advertisers to find out exactly who their most valuable buyers are.

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Richard Towey

Richard is a former head of content at PerformanceIN. After many years spent covering developments from the automotive, sports, travel and finance sectors, he eventually turned his full attention to reporting on stories from the fast-evolving world of digital marketing.